The lines of communication have been opened between off-campus Greek organizations and the task force, and the stigma associated with off-campus groups is slowly melting away. Chairman of the Task Force for Off-Campus and Unrecognized Groups Jordan Miles said, "I think a lot of people didn't understand why the task force was present ... The general consensus of students who spoke were critical of the task force. I think it's good that they spoke their mind about this."Dane Summerell, who also sits on the task force, wished he could have seen more non-Greek affiliated students present at the form, to get a more general opinion. The task force is working to figure out how to proceed with the situation. "I think the students would agree on there are problems with which the situation is being handled. I don't think the student body has a very determined idea of what the exact problem is and the exact way to solve the problem ... I would say more so the way the situation has been handled in the past," said Summerell.
There are various opinions on the task force's purpose. "If it wasn't for this open forum these off-campus groups would not have had a voice ... they were an entity with no voice which is a problem with any student body," said Summerell.
Yuri Calustro, who is a brother of Gamma Psi, said the focal point of the task force is to assess all off-campus groups. "Honestly at first I thought the purpose of the task force was just to eradicate all off-campus groups. After talking to them I feel they are giving us a voice more than the school has in the past and are genuinely trying to help, despite the fact that I do disagree with some of their suggestions," said Lauren Lauderdale, sister of Alpha Beta Psi.
Erikk Shupp, brother of Delta Tau Chi, had a different opinion. "I believe the task force serves no actual purpose to the community other than voice the opinions of the school's student populace towards the minority population of off-campus organizations. The 'power' based within this task force should only raises awareness and signify the relationships the off-campus organizations and their affects on the college community. There have been actions taken against the off-campus organizations before and those initiatives have never fully developed."
All three representatives of unrecognized organizations feel targeted on some level. "The creation of the task force is a blatant attack on the off-campus organizations and being threatened as a 'problem' targets a minority of students and increases stress in our college lives ... We are students and we are a small minority, attacked by a larger body based on their own misconceptions of our values and bonds. So, in essence, we are demonized and bullied by the system we are educated in, so yes, I for one feel targeted," said Shupp.
"There's a certain stigma associated with off-campus organizations. The administration appears to emphasize the negatives of off-campus groups and highlight the positives of those on-campus, when in fact, some of these on-campus and off-campus organizations operate similarly," said Calustro. "Of course we are targeted. Alpha Beta Psi falls under the stigmatized umbrella term 'off-campus,'" said Lauderdale.
"I believe anybody should be able to meet and associate with a group and the company of a group. Where I think it falters is that some have to play by the rules and some don't. Since we are all students here we should all have to play by the rules equally," said Summerill. He went on to say, "Our main focus is to make sure that we are doing what's in the best interest of every student and that of course includes the unrecognized."
"There is an obsession on what to do with these external organizations but there doesn't need to be. Our energy can be directed into bettering ourselves, rather than attacking one another. Halt all attacks on off-campus organizations, it's all for nothing. We are wasting energy for something that has been blown out of proportion," said Shupp.
"It was a good opening to the discussion on off-campus groups in that it introduced the task force to the student body. During the forum, several opinions, suggestions, and emotions were shared that raised some very important points. We believe that a second public forum with directed questions and topics would be more beneficial in the future," said Calustro.
"It's very easy to be wary of something you are not familiar with. There are a lot of people that don't know about Alpha Beta Psi and people are often misinformed about us. People assume we haze because we are not 'on-campus' but that's simply not true. This misinformation is not limited to just us, but affects other off-campus groups too," said Lauderdale.
Summerill said the task force still is not sure how to proceed. "We sent out surveys to all the recognized Greek organizations. Originally the task force was only suppose[d] to be towards the end of the year so now we are looking to expand our bylaws till next semester because we don't want to rush any of our decisions."
"Our suggestion would be for off-campus organizations and the administration to come to a mutual understanding in regards to the existence of off-campus organizations," said Calustro.
"Stop the discrimination, the slander. We are all human beings, but we walk our lives differently, so why should one limit another's ability to do so? The only people hurt are the people targeted, by the institutes and "tasks forces" against us. I am already a racial minority at this school, so I know what discrimination feels like," said Shupp.
"We want to clear the air and we want to be able to understand were each of us is coming from," said Miles.
Calustro shared a similar view point, saying, "If this task force is going to be successful, then open and honest lines of communication are needed between the task force and the students. We would encourage those either in support of or against off-campus organizations to be more vocal. In order for the task force to make an educated and well informed decision, all points of view need to be heard with an open mind."
"Ultimately I hope that we can come to some kind of compromise with the school," said Lauderdale.
"One of my brothers Patrick Crute ... challenged everyone to come on-campus and the reason I would support that statement its look how many people were here fighting for something they believed in. if they were fighting for the same thing as an entire Greek community ... your voice is so much louder and can do so much more and as a Greek community we need to be there for each other. For that to happen we all have to be recognized," said Summerell.
Sisters of Zeta Chi Alpha were contacted several times and declined to comment. The task force will continue to meet to decide how to proceed.
